Hearing protector fit testing with off-shore oil-rig inspectors in Louisiana and Texas

Details

• Personal Author:
  Murata TK ; Murphy, William J. ; Themann, Christa L.
• Description:
  Objective: This field study aimed to assess the noise reduction of hearing protection for individual workers, demonstrate the effectiveness of training on the level of protection achieved, and measure the time required to implement hearing protector fit testing in the workplace. Design: The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted field studies in Louisiana and Texas to test the performance of HPD Well-Fit. Study sample: Fit tests were performed on 126 inspectors and engineers working in the offshore oil industry. Results: Workers were fit tested with the goal of achieving a 25-dB PAR. Less than half of the workers were achieving sufficient protection from their hearing protectors prior to NIOSH intervention and training; following re-fitting and re-training, over 85% of the workers achieved sufficient protection. Typical test times were 6-12 minutes. Conclusions: Fit testing of the workers' earplugs identified those workers who were and were not achieving the desired level of protection. Recommendations for other hearing protection solutions were made for workers who could not achieve the target PAR. The study demonstrates the need for individual hearing protector fit testing and addresses some of the barriers to implementation. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  • Ear
  • Hearing
  • Hearing Loss
  • Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced
  • Noise
  • Noise, Occupational
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Protective Clothing
  • Safety
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Noise induced hearing loss
  • Noise protection
  • Noise exposure
  • Noise
  • Hearing loss prevention
  • Hearing protection
  • Hearing
  • Workers
  • Work environment
  • Training
  More +
• ISSN:
  1499-2027
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  55
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20048471
• Citation:
  Int J Audiol 2016 Nov; 55(11):688-698
• Contact Point Address:
  William Murphy, NIOSH, DART/EPHB/HLPT, 1150 Tusculum Ave, Mailstop C-27, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226-1998
• Email:
  wjm4@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• NORA Priority Area:
  Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Audiology
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/203220/cdc_203220_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.01 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:1aa69d417acce6943adc7f8b9144d1515f2c56767a756d97db45d1c5c2ceb72ef9e0fa1d5c0ff6eb8b76e9643fe6190476328d213bb03f6dc23ba7a605f07379